Field Trip: February 1994

Beyhan Shaw organized the first field trip to start the 1994 season. It took 24 O.H.S. members to Metcalfe, Ontario to visit the Continental Mushroom Farm.

Our tour guide, also the general manager of this family-run business, was Mr. Lyle Whitham. The tour began by showing us where the mushroom compost was made. This medium consists of organic ingredients such as composted hay, corn cobs, cocoa beans, peat moss and limestone.

From here, we toured the various "dark rooms" that house mushrooms in different stages of growth and provide varying levels of moisture. Both white mushrooms and brown mushrooms are produced here. We finished by viewing the packaging rooms where mushrooms are packaged in preparation for delivery to the eastern Ontario region. At the end of the tour, many of us bought mushrooms.

Continental Mushroom Farm is one of the largest mushroom farms in Canada. Society members were given the opportunity to purchase mushroom compost during the gardening season at a 10% discount. Our plants really appreciated being supplemented with "black gold" this summer.

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